We may think of ‘globalism’ as a recent development, but its origins date back centuries,  when courageous seafarers pioneered routes across the oceans with the objectives of exploration, trade and profits. Improvements in ship design, compasses and mapping, enabled navigation across unprecedented distances. The embarkation points were the vibrant ports of the West – Venice, Amsterdam, Lisbon – and their destinations the exotic ports of the East – Malacca, Goa, Bombay – where they tracked down the elusive spices. 

This development of maritime communication brought benefits apart from culinary delights: the spread of ideas on art, literature and science. But it was not beneficial for everyone concerned: colonial ambitions could be disastrous for local populations who were often exploited as labour. 

Author and journalist, Nick Nugent gives a fascinating insight into this period of the maritime spice trade with stories of how famous ports were developed, what damage was caused and what benefits came out of it that feed into our current system of global supply chains that cross continents to bring us our food, clothes and more.